. >> san jose does not exist in some sort of isolated environment. >> reporter: political analyst, larry gerston, says what's good for san jose has to be good for other cities. he says luring employees and managers from one city to another is nothing new. still, san jose shouldn't get upset when other cities are poaching its cops. >> as long as everyone is competing for these people, everyone has to be a big boy and girl about it and realize what goes one way can go the other. >> reporter: while san jose police would not talk about this policy on camera, they did say the intent was never to lure new recruits away from other cities. licardo thinks the police policy is a good one. >> we should continue to encourage our officers to be out there talking to other officers, who may be interested in a career here in san jose. we know that's happening in every city in the bay area. >> reporter: to which critics say don't get mad when other cities do it to you. we have reported that roughly 17 new recruits have graduated from the police academy last month in san jose. either have one foot out the